Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1887-11-18

idle wings Of white on the sea, that "great
sweet mother and lover of men, who gave
back from her vast, slowly-heaving bosom
the deep hues of cloudless sky, blue as
the bluest-vaulted dome Of dreamy Italy
Across the way stood lonely Eld-Held,
empty and still.
Gone, gone, were all those happy days !
Never more to be recalled Gone with
the sad-eyed Princess. Gone with Dolores
and Max and Medji, far across that wide
waste Of waters--"W herel alas whereof
And Arthur Fairfax, leaning heavy,
aching head on tired arms that rested In
the wmdow-sill, peered vainly out into the
eyes back again and relapsed into SORROW
full thought.
All things reminded him Of the past
"old faces glimmered thro' tho doors,
Old footsteps trod tho upper floors
Old voices called him from without"
Bit by bit tho stealthy twilight drew near,
md up from eastern waves rose a sad, pale
noon-he remembered how they sat togeth-
er on the rocks only the other night, 81.
Iently watching its silvery beams playing
over the rolling pillows. Bright enough Il
seemed then-but nowl Was she watch.
ing IT. tool Would IL remind her Of the
past1
A tear stole down over his cheek and,
with bitter sob, he hid his fsce In HIS hands
and wept Yes he was crying this great,
strong fellow, VINO ever prided himself upon
his stoicism and self-controL
All, hal Arthur Fairfax, how often havo
Won asked yourself the question: "Have
] heart, or notn What is your answer,
nowf
The crickets sim sang In the grass. An
owl hooted family In tho distance. Then
few a belated whip-poor.will and perchod
in tree by tho window.
WhIppoorwil ! Whippoorwill !" cried
the bird.
Fairfax looked up.
4 brilliant path Of glory lay Frightening
across tho sea, from the moon TO the beach,
and, just where II ended, lay httlo row.
boat at anchor, rising and falling on the
long, lazy swell - that boat in which
the two had foated over the moon-lit
waters, and dreamed tho happy hours
away.
Languidly he arose with sigh, and,
closing the door behind him, passed down
TO the shore.
With thoughts still far away, almost
mechanically he loosed the boat, took the
oars, and slowly pulled out to sea-that
vast plain which bore upon its surface his
hopes, his heart, nayI his very life. Though
far apart they. were did not the same
waters wash their boats keel; were not the
same stars smiling down upon BOTH
On, on he passed, not needing nor car
ing to shape his course, oblivious 10 every
A.. l,..E y 10 InoIu hnl u
The moon rose higher and higher. By
little and little, tho shores OF the island
passed into the distance.
How much farther out to seq no, might
have gone, or how much longer rowed, mono
can say; but sudden Earring Of the boats
keel, q harsh grating Of pebbles against its
bottom betokened the fact that his onward
career was ended.
YEARLY raising his head and glancing
about, without surprise, as II 1t wore all
matter of course, he slowly stepped ashore
with the rope In his hand, ,half-consciously
making 1t fast to large stone close By.
He looked around.
Where and what was this placel He did
not know and scarcely seemed 70 care Per
haps an island IN tho harbor; possibly even
the mainland. What mattered i'll Either
was ali one and the same to him.
Onward he walked, head down, the pict-
ure of self-absorbed sorrow.
A lonely pine-tree stood back, some dis
TANGO from the shore. Seating himself boz
meath II, he buried his face In his hands.
Wearied and worn out in body and soul,
was It any wonder that he should pass
from these gloomy day-dreams into the
kindly realms of slcepi And so 1t was, for
he slept; yet, ever and anon, moaned, or
sighed in his sleep
Stealthily tho sea-tide rose. The careless
knot clipped from its anchoring stone and
tho loosened boat slid gradually back from
tho shore and drifted far out to sea.
A snow-white owl whirred softly over the
head of the sleeper and, by and by, startled
the quiet night with her word "Tu-whiti
Tu-whup' that echoed far among the pines
of the wood.
Afterwards, large red fox came boldly
up, but seeing the alarming spectacle Of q
human figure crouching down under the
fir, turned quickly about and scurried back,
In fright, to the forest
Last Of all, when the moon reached the
zenith, strange, dark bird came flying
wearily toward the pine and, as ifexhausted,
sank down to rest on the topmost boughs.
OF singular form and plumage, 1t looked
and acted as If lost on unfamiliar coasts.
Then all was silent, until the dreamer
moaned. Startled, the bird looked down
and, finally, flew to lower branch whence
It could SEQ every thing below.
Again the unhappy man moved in his
sleep and sighed.
The bird turned It's head to one side with
half-human look, and with wholly-hu-
man shrek, wild and shrill, spread its
wings and flew back In tho darkness to-
ward the wood.
Awake sleeper, awake and followl